Do we need to rethink who has access to affordable homes?
By Sam R on Jan 10, 2017
Although obviously a proponent of homeownership, as I’ve read the many reports about first-time buyers’ being increasingly priced out of the downtown market, I’ve been guilty of thinking that there are worse things that can befall a person.
I believe affordable homeownership to be key to cultivating a vibrant urban society as well as a healthy economy, so I do have a little sympathy for those who can’t afford a home in their desired neighbourhood. But this morning as I read a recent story in the UK’s Guardian about steps they’re taking to increase the supply of affordable homes, I realized there’s another side to the issue.
If homeownership is a life goal for our key workers, those who contribute to the necessary infrastructure that makes urban condominium living viable and desirable such as nurses, teachers, EMS workers etc., then failing to help them achieve it is going to drive them away.
Part of the solution under investigation in London right now is the subsidy of market rents in order to facilitate the saving of a down payment, which especially with the recent stress-test changes to legislation, is an almost-insurmountable hurdle in Toronto.
According to a recent report by housing charity Dolphin Living, providing subsidized rental homes to key workers results in substantial benefit to the city economy, not just through their spending power but in a wider contribution that far exceeds their individual salaries.
Nurses, for example, help thousands of patients get back into good health and returned to their own jobs. “The wage of a teacher, or nurse, or tourism worker is much lower than the productive contribution they make to the economy and society,” according to University of Westminster Professor Peter Urwin, one of the authors of “Estimating the Value of Discounted Rental Accommodation.”
According to the report, subsidizing an affordable home at a cost of about $22,500 CDN results in returns to the local economy of about $43,000 CDN. If all of the million or so workers the report considers “key” were to move out, the local economy would take a hit of more than $15 billion.
I’m generally a pretty fiscally conservative guy, but maybe it is time we looked at creative solutions that put politics aside and genuinely benefit the city. Perhaps rental subsidies aren’t just for those in dire financial circumstances, but rather part of a comprehensive solution to help Toronto realize its potential as a world-class urban example.
***
Criticism of the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) are many, but they got one right this week when they ruled to allow Toronto dad John Alpeza to keep the $30,000 pirate ship treehouse he built in his backyard. The professional contractor originally put up the whimsical structure four years ago, according to CTV, so that his sons would have a place to ply their imaginations outside, and simply enjoy having the best treehouse ever.Taking NIMBYism to new heights, neighbours, of course, were quick to moan and complain because they could see the structure above their fences. From what I can see, it’s not ridiculously huge and is made of good materials, not some clapped-together eyesore made of duct tape and old tires. The family was originally ordered by the city to tear down the structure, so Alpeza went to the York Committee of Adjustment, where he lost. He turned then to the OMB, who recently ruled that he had to lower the structure by three feet, move the structure a foot farther away from his neighbour’s house, and erect a fence between the two, adjustments that will cost him about $10,000 but that he’s willing and able to do.The play structure, which features retractable windows, a hammock, swing ropes and a captain’s wheel (although there was no mention of a parrot), is clearly the stuff of which childhood dreams are made. While many will argue that his neighbour shouldn’t have to look out his windows each day and see such a thing against his wishes, don’t we just occasionally need to lighten up and let people do cool stuff? These are garden-variety (no pun intended) Toronto backyards, overlooking other typically rectangular, boring backyards. The structure doesn’t block a lake or mountain view.Yes, perhaps Alpeza could have thought through the height and location a little better in the first place, but apparently this has been the cause of a neighbourhood feud that’s now been brewing for years. Is it really so awful a sight that it’s worth discord with your neighbours? It’s not like he paved his driveway with beer caps or turned his backyard into an homage to seashell wind chimes and pink flamingoes.Sometimes you have to decide whether to alienate a neighbour so you don’t have to catch glimpses of part of his kids’ treehouse over the top of your fence or just take a deep breath and concentrate on living your own best life.
